A third Intrepid Potash Inc. employee has succumbed to critical injuries he suffered Saturday, Nov. 10, when industrial equipment he and two co-workers were using touched a power line at the company’s potash mine site near Moab, Utah.
Arthur Secrest was flown that afternoon to the University of Utah Hospital’s burn center in Salt Lake City, about 200 miles northwest of Moab, after he was found unconscious and breathing. He died Tuesday night, Nov. 13. Russell Helquist and Matthew Johnston were electrocuted and pronounced dead at the scene.
Multiple police and fire agencies responded to what initially was reported as an explosion at the Intrepid plant, which has approximately 50 employees. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families and friends of these good men,” San Juan County Sheriff Rick Eldredge said, describing the victims as longtime area residents between 40 and 50 years of age.
Eldredge, who has been sheriff for eight years, told Green Markets that the three men were extracting a pump from a pond to be placed on a flatbed trailer, but did not notice the overhead power line.
Helquist and Johnston were holding the pump and were killed instantly by the voltage, Eldredge said, but Secrest, who was operating the equipment, was found breathing by another employee, who called 911.
“This is very sad and tragic. All three men were from the Moab area. This has had a big impact on our small town,” he said, adding that he knew Helquist quite well. The first funeral is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 17.
Based in Denver, Intrepid Potash manufactures fertilizer and is the nation’s largest producer of potassium chloride. It operates three solar evaporation mines – two in Utah at Moab and Wendover, and one at Carlsbad, N.M.
The Moab area boasts rare economically viable deposits of potash used in fertilizer. The BLM estimates two billion tons of potash are located in the Paradox Basin.
“At present, it would be premature and inappropriate for us to speculate on the cause of the incident,” Intrepid spokesman Matt Preston stated, noting that the company’s corporate crisis management team contacted emergency responders.
“There is an active investigation under way by the appropriate authorities. Some operations have resumed in areas not subject to the investigation, and we will provide updates as and when appropriate. Employee safety is and will continue to be Intrepid’s top priority,” said Preston.
Preston added that Intrepid officials are terribly saddened by the deaths and will continue to support the families of those involved in the industrial accident and the company’s workers at Moab.